“Work’s Not Done”
January 10th, 2021
Joe has written this before, but it is still so true:
The Bucs, since Chucky was fired, have been the fire hydrant to the NFL’s kennel of german shepherds. Almost weekly for 13 years the NFL dogs took turns lifting a hind leg on the Bucs.
With the 2020 addition of several key veterans, the development of a bunch of young players and signing park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting, handshake-stiffing, jet-ski-losing, biscuit-baking Bucs quarterback Tom Brady, it seems those days are in the rear view mirror.
So Joe figured the Bucs would be stoked and partying after last night’s 31-23 win, especially after escaping FedEx Field after a really awful defensive performance.
(The Bucs defense played so poorly last night, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles may have screwed up by not interviewing for the Dixie Chicks head coaching job last week. Artie Blank and Rich McKay are liable to cancel the interview.)
But Bucs left tackle Donovan Smith, who stonewalled mouthy Washington defensive end Chase Young, didn’t want to hear anything about partying.
Asked what the mood was like in the locker room after the Bucs secured their first playoff win since winning a Super Bowl in January 2003, Smith was unfazed.
“A lot of guys were enjoying the win but we feel like work’s not done,” Smith said. “For tonight, we will enjoy it. But we have to get back to the drawing board and correct the things that we need to correct.”
Not only is that a very NFL-veteran response from Smith, didn’t that quote read like Brady? You cannot tell Joe the Brady influence isn’t rubbing off. Hey, it’s great to have a win but you can always improve.
There is rarely a perfect game in football. Joe Montana slicing up the Broncos in the Super Bowl or Phil Simms doing the same against Denver are about as close as perfection in NFL history.
And despite Smith damn near having a perfect night, limiting Young’s impact on the game to almost zero. that was a cool and impressive response from a guy with just one winning season in his six-year NFL career.
If the Bears can somehow beat the Saints today, the Bucs would host the Rams next weekend. If New Orleans wins, the Bucs will play at the Saints. Joe guesses that would be a Sunday night game.
Bucs have a 79% run block win rate tonight — would be their highest RBWR game of the season if that kept up.
(ESPN/Next Gen Stats) https://t.co/QGoi4tPbrC
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) January 10, 2021
January 10th, 2021 at 6:03 am
Bowels don’t have it for consistency
January 10th, 2021 at 6:41 am
The Bucs D was not that bad- Washington had 7 first half points, and Vaughn’s fumble was a 10 point swing in the 3rd quarter as the Bucs were driving.
Also Whitehead dropped an interception .
Heinicke played great- he was the WFT’s total running game and he made plays with his scrambling ability.
The Bucs offense also screwed up a chance to score more points at the end of the half.
The decision to go for 2 points was also dumb.
January 10th, 2021 at 6:49 am
Definitely a lot of work to do, this defence gives no Buc fan confidence that they can play well. They need to score a ton to be competitive against the Saints or the Packers. Most likely path to win a championship is NO- GB-KC. That is a rough road, but not impossible. They better avg 35-40 a game to have a chance. Not impossible, but improbable. But then again that is why they play the games. Just ask Joe Willie Namath and the 1980 Raiders, the first Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl. GO BUCS!!!!!!
January 10th, 2021 at 6:52 am
Personally thought the offensive star of the game was Leonard Fournette … and the OLine. Fournette made some very impressive runs (19 carries for 93 rushing yds for a 4.9 YPC average), PLUS added 4 receptions for another 39 yds (9.8 YPR average). Helped keep the Washington defense off-balance very nicely. THAT impresses me.
Cam Brate was another offensive guy who impressed me … 4 big receptions for 80 yds at some critical times to keep drives alive. One of my favorite plays though was Antonio Brown’s end-around for 22 yds early in the game (he’s got some great moves).
Tom Brady was average at best on the night (22-of-40 passing) but made his completions count (381 passing yds for 2 TDs). Add in the 142 rushing yards and Bucs ended up with over 500 yds of total offense, a 7.0 yds/play average. Very nice against a Top-10 defense!
January 10th, 2021 at 6:59 am
If the Bears can somehow beat the Saints today, the Bucs would host the Rams next weekend.- Joe
How about Bucs beat Saints, Rams beat Packers, and Bucs host NFC Championship game vs Rams!!!!
January 10th, 2021 at 7:06 am
Tend to agree with Alan, but the lack of adjustment to spy Heinecke was perplexing. Mobile qbs give this team issues clearly, and while there may not be any left to face in NFC (Rogers does know how to scramble tho), Josh Allen, Mahommes, or Lamar Jackson will have a walk in Al Lopez Park come February.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:07 am
I really hope there isn’t something else going on with Ronald Jones.
After the Vaughn fumble Jones stood up from the bench like “put me in coach”
I hope there isn’t sour grapes or something like that.
No one even knew he had an injury.
I thought Vaughn would play well being so shifty and fast but that fumble ruined it for him.
Was really impressed with Fournette.
Sure hope R. Jones is good for next week.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:13 am
Brady had to throw the ball away countless times last night…….no interceptions and Brady doesn’t fumble when he’s sacked…..
And…..we should NEVER…..NEVER run plays with an empty backfield……2nd & 4 and out trots 46 WRs……….what happens……SACK
Defense……one of my players was Ryan Succop…….4-4 on FGs……steady, solid.
A miss with any of them could have really changed momentum.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:22 am
Great victory for a team with little play off experience. Nerves should be settled a little bit for round 2.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:36 am
This has bothered me for a while… please stop all the blah, blah, blah before Tom Brady’s name. C’mon man! It was sick as light you did the America’s QB thing with Winston… heck that should be Brady. This site has lost its appeal.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:37 am
Sick enough ^
January 10th, 2021 at 7:41 am
OL really did a good job again a tough Washington D Line
…….but Ted Larson is no Alex Cappa………..that’s a huge hole to fill next game
January 10th, 2021 at 7:42 am
TBBF … Agree with you about Ryan Succop; money in the bank. Those empty backfields drive me nuts too.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:58 am
Great to get a win in the playoffs, but reality check time. If they play the Saints, it is real simple. If they can not pressure Brees, like they were not able to pressure “Mr Heiniken” then it will be a painful game to watch. It comes down to knocking Brees around. Time to bring the kitchen baby!! Unleash the hounds Mr Bowels. GO BUCS!!!
January 10th, 2021 at 8:10 am
This was not a satisfying win. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy the Bucs won, but the team looked sloppy, especially on defense.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:11 am
How about those two end around play calls, one for Scooter and the other for AB actually got yardage, are those the plays we were waiting to unveil
January 10th, 2021 at 8:12 am
Only a casual fan would think Brady was average last night. 6 drops and at least 4 throw aways. He held them together when they got shaky. Play calling was sketchy a few times in key spots. BL went back to that run up the gut on 1st down late in the game when they were killing it off tackle. It’s the playoffs and your going to get everyone’s best effort. Without the drops Brady has two more tds and another 100 yards at least. Won’t happen again. At least not from Godwin.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:16 am
76 is here to stay on the Left Side. Hope everybody on the line is back for another run in 2021. Best OL in BUCS history when it comes to protection.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:19 am
One down three to go. “D” has to play better.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:21 am
Defense Rules says Brady had an average night w/381 yds & 2 TD’s. How about the drops & fumble – who knows how many more yards & points might have been? Guess, in your eyes, he needs to throw for 500 yds for a good rating.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:29 am
Vaughn put him in the doghouse with that fumble but the kid has juice. I’m guessing won’t trust him again this year but I think that kid might be special down the road.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:36 am
Hats off to Donovan Smith…perhaps the most polarizing player in the eyes of Bucs fans. He bullied Young…making him tap out with a faux injury…sending him to the sideline and relegating him to male cheerleading status.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:37 am
BTW . All the games yesterday were ugly. That’s playoff football. Survive and advance. Their defense played much better than the Bucs yet Bucs still won.
January 10th, 2021 at 8:59 am
Sign of how good Alex Cappa has been all year. You don’t even notice the RG position until he left the game. Dude is really turning into a solid player. Nice draft pick Mr. Licht….
January 10th, 2021 at 9:00 am
It was a great win for the Bucs and our fans, but Alanbucsfan is right. Once again it seemed like we were outcoached, especially in the first half when we chose to go for two. If we kick the extra point we make it a two score game. I think it was a terrible coaching decision by Arians to start chasing points so early in the game following the blocked extra point. Against the really good teams like the ones we have coming up you can’t make those kind of mistakes. For us to get to the Super Bowl and actually win it, our offense, defense, special teams and especially the coaches all need to be on their “A” game.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:07 am
With Devin White in, that’s a different ball game. Minter played very well for a backup but missed a few BIG PLAYS that devins speed woulda been on display
January 10th, 2021 at 9:10 am
Do we know the status of Cappa? Is it still too early?
Props to the OL, for sure!!
I counted 5 drops from Godwin! Not characteristic at all. I expect he’ll return to form next week.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:21 am
Hey JBF, I may get some blow back on this but I have not read any article / post about Ryan Succop. Dude should get some props. He put up 12 critical points last night. Sorry about the PAT but nice night for RS. Go Bucks!
January 10th, 2021 at 9:36 am
So many people blaming balls for the defense. The line was fantastic against the run. They were missing The leader of their defense and best Blitzer.
We all know some of those young DBs Are weak spots. Dealing with all that, I thought the day was decent.
On top of that, that was a very elusive quarterback. Hard to account for some drives staying alive by big runs like that.
I hate complaining about officials but that game was officiated extremely poorly. Washington had a touchdown catch that was bobbled out of bounds, no catch. There was a fumble and a recovery by the Bucs ruled not a fumble.
There were basically about four big calls that really changed momentum
They won, and they definitely have things to clean up (someone check Godwins gloves), But that could have, should have been 44 to 16
January 10th, 2021 at 9:54 am
Yesterday is over. The season is not.
The Bucs have the most successful QB of all time, and his preparation and planning and routines obviously work.
What these players should be doing is watching Tom Brady. What does he do in between playoff games? Does he watch the other teams? Does he talk to friends? Does he change his routine?
January 10th, 2021 at 9:55 am
Toilet Bowles needs to do something about his leaky secondary. It could be as simple as smb just not very good when a rookie seems to be in place more than him. No one gives up more yards than smb and it’s sickening
January 10th, 2021 at 10:03 am
Lee DD with another solid observation……… Bucs D will be what carries us to the big game and the DD reviews will not age well.
January 10th, 2021 at 10:18 am
I think you mean Jim Plunkett August buc.
Young QB was heroic last night but we have Brady and you can see the effect he has on the whole team. Work to do for sure but I will take an ugly win any day. I took my high school age boys down from Jersey the last time we played Washington, was having flashbacks that this one would end the same way. I see a culture changing with this team. 2 more and we make history let’s go Bucs!
January 10th, 2021 at 10:30 am
With Larsen at RG, I suspect you’ll see fewer, if any, empty backfields.
The NO DL is easily as good, if not better, than any team in the NFL, and they can really bring the heat without blitzing.
Rams or Saints, the OL will have to really step up next game. They will win or lose the game.
I would prefer the Rams at home with a hobbled Donald. The Saints are a more complete team.
I’m a Bears fan for the first time in over three decades…
January 10th, 2021 at 10:34 am
The OL were warriors tonight. They showed a lot of character, toughness and resiliency. The teams success will ride on their shoulders. If they can build upon what they accomplished tonight they have a good chance moving forward in the playoffs. Brady is one cool cat and can make all the throws. He just needs time and a clean pocket.
January 10th, 2021 at 10:42 am
That O LINEplayed lights out
Chase was getting pancaked on a consistent basis
January 10th, 2021 at 11:16 am
Go Bears ! (For today only)
January 10th, 2021 at 11:26 am
do we have anyone other than larsen who will sub in for cappa? can we slide jensen to that guard like we did with marpet? Issue is our other center (forgetting his name right now) injured earlier in the year the career ending. not sure but that is a worry for me for next week’s game. at least they can start prepping for that now
January 10th, 2021 at 11:45 am
Cobra
Agree completely with your takes. Perhaps we part on who we want to play next.
I certainly understand the logic. If we want our best shot at the SB we do not want to go to N.O.
I guess I’m too…old school? To be the best you have to beat the best. I want us to get even with N.O. or realize they were better than us this year. They MAY be but I’m not certain right now.
I guess I’m getting greedy eh? I’m not satisfied with just winning next week I want to face our nemesis and get rid of our demons and begin to make statement. There’s a new top dog in the NFC South. If we don’t beat N.O. even if we win the SB we can’t really make that statement.
I know “Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord” but for perhaps irrational reasons the taste in my mouth from Sean and the guys is just disgusting. I want to cleanse it on a very important stage.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:05 pm
Now the Bucs are past the point of winning against losing teams. Rams or the Saints. The Bucs need to beat either one. Then the nation will believe.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:14 pm
TBBF and Cobraboy: Agreed on empty backfield.
SPBF: I’m also good with the Bucs going to New Orleans. The Bucs would have a shot with a better game plan than we saw in the earlier games.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:44 pm
I’m always leery of 76 but credit where credit is due. 99 for Washington was literally a non factor last night. That being said loosing Capps is going to hurt, his back ups are not good enough.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:58 pm
Great analysis Joe: Brady Influence>D. Smith + Team
January 10th, 2021 at 1:10 pm
spbf: There is no home-field advantage in the 2021 playoffs…except where the weather is a factor.
NO is a more complete team at this time, O & D, than the wounded Rams. I’d rather play the Rams.
In either event, I do NOT want to play in Green Bay, but unless there is a miracle, all roads to the SB go through the Frozen Tundra.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:32 pm
I would rather face the Rams at home too, but you have to admit that nothing would be sweeter than going into New Orleans and beating their ass on National Television considering the way they punked us twice this year.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:54 pm
Kudos to Donovan Smith. He’s been blasted on this site more times than praised by many Bucs’ loyalists. He and his fellow linemen silenced a DL that was allegedly going to make this game winnable for a team with no name. Instead that DL got schooled.
The only reasons this game was close was because the BUCS DEFENSE could not put enough pressure on a former street-walking QB who has only been on the skinless roster for 3-months making him look like the next coming of Russell Wilson!
DC Bowles better spend more time figuring out what happened to our prime-time defense than job interviewing right now, because he will have plenty of time for that in 7-days if he doesn’t figure it out, and getting white back won’t be enough against the ‘Aints or Lambs to get it come!
Let’s go Bucs!
January 10th, 2021 at 3:47 pm
Jerseybuc Says:
January 10th, 2021 at 10:18 am
“I think you mean Jim Plunkett August buc.”
I meant to say Joe Willie Namath winning SB 3 against the Colts and the 1980 Raiders winning the Super Bowl as a Wild Card Team. Even though they most likely will have to play NO – GB – KC to win the Super Bowl. They still have an have a shot, because they can keep up with those teams if they protect Brady. GO BUCS!!!!